Source: University of Auckland (UoA)

Where to for globalisation: cooperation, competition, or collapse? World-leading thinkers are exploring what comes next at the first-ever International Economics Workshop in Auckland.

As political allies shift, supply chains reorganise, and major powers butt heads, the University of Auckland is bringing some of the world’s most influential economic thinkers to New Zealand to examine what comes next.

On 4 December, two events will feature global heavyweights tackling the big questions shaping trade, finance, and geoeconomics, and what it all means for Aotearoa New Zealand.

The inaugural University of Auckland International Economics Workshop will explore the geoeconomics of the new world order, strategic industrial policy, macro-financial spillovers, and the geopolitics of trade, climate, and critical minerals.

Among the speakers is Harvard University’s Professor Pol Antràs, one of the world’s most cited authorities on global supply chains and trade fragmentation, and Professor Stephen Redding, an authority on trade and uncertainty. They're joined by experts including former New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England, now Chief Economic Adviser at PwC, Andy Haldane.

In the evening, the event Geoeconomic Fragmentation: Challenges and Opportunities, will feature Harvard Business School Professor Laura Alfaro, a globally recognised expert on international investment and former Minister of National Planning in Costa Rica. She’s joined by Haldane, and Business School economics professor and member of the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, Prasanna Gai, for an in-depth conversation about the forces reshaping inclusive growth, financial stability, and cross-border spillovers.

Gai says the two events create a rare opportunity to hear directly from the thought leaders shaping global debates.

“Globalisation is changing in fundamental ways,” he says. “These conversations will help us better anticipate risks, adapt policy, and identify where our comparative advantages will lie.”

In recent research, Professor Antràs shows that multinationals don’t just trade with the countries where they have affiliates — they also trade heavily with nearby markets, because sharing fixed costs across their global plants creates deep interdependencies that can magnify the geopolitical spillovers of trade policy. For New Zealand, a small, trade-dependent nation, this shift poses risks and opportunities.

Higher tariffs, US policy swings, and ongoing fractures in global governance all point to a more challenging environment for exporters.

When it comes to trade, climate and migration, University of Auckland Associate Professor Asha Sundaram says she’s looking forward to discussing how globalisation will interact with the rising influence of emerging markets in the world economic order, and the challenges and opportunities that climate change, the race for critical minerals and growing talent flows across borders will engender.

Workshop co-organiser and University of Auckland economics lecturer Chanelle Duley is chairing a panel discussion on trade policy and macroeconomics. She says firms are now at the centre of the story.

“While outsourcing was commonplace in the early stages of globalisation, firms are increasingly expanding their boundaries to secure reliable access to upstream goods as geopolitical tensions and uncertainty intensify.”

These shifts, says Duley, are creating new cross-jurisdictional interdependencies, with important macroeconomic implications for countries like New Zealand.

Source: CyberNews – Analysis by Aras Nazarovas.

Not so long ago, we saw highly visible events, such as mainstream chatbots ChatGPT and Grok conversations ending up on Google results and exposing sensitive prompts, private data, and company strategies, which showed as examples of systemic control failure.

If that is not enough, Vyro AI followed by leaving an Elasticsearch server completely open, which included prompts, tokens, and user agents. This is like leaving a data center's doors wide open for everyone to see.

It is, without a doubt, a C-suite issue. In addition to operational risks such as stolen bearer tokens and session artifacts, supply chain vulnerabilities, and trust damage, it also presents significant legal risks that invoke data protection obligations. It's a clear warning for all CTOs, CISOs, and other executives.

These are not nation-state intrusions, sophisticated attacks, or zero-days. These are simple security mistakes with large consequences. A database was left open for anyone to see, and the pattern is repeating across the industry.

Free AI, Hidden Risks

Vyro AI leak? There is no password protection, authentication requirements, or network restrictions. It just misses the basic security that every developer or system engineer needs to follow.

Traditional security frameworks do not work for most AI systems, with unpredictable data flows, processing, and AI operating across different principles. The attack surface extends beyond traditional boundaries.

For example, prompt injection. Attackers can manipulate AI responses by crafting prompts, leading to unauthorized access to user data. This requires no specialized technical skills, only the ability to craft persuasive language that influences the system's behavior. It requires more thought about security than apparently some can provide.

Since 73% of enterprises faced at least one AI-related security incident in the past year, with an average cost of $4.8 million per breach, there is preparation for warfare, but the door is left wide open. Or, as we see, some are building defenses against AI-powered attacks and discussing cutting-edge threats while leaving databases exposed, and nobody admits they forgot to enable authentication.

Human Error or Technical Incompetence?

I agree that human error is inevitable. Not everything needs to be perfect, but it should not be neglected. Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, but the leak connected to Vyro AI is not that. It proves that a simple mistake, like leaving a database open to everyone, can expose user data to attackers for months.  And it could have been avoided if it had been given more attention.

Some people, myself included, think twice before putting sensitive info into AI tools. The Vyro AI server was left unsecured for several months, and once data goes into someone else's system, we can lose control over where it might end up.

Transparency Is Not Profitable

Most AI services do not tell you how they protect or store your data, who has access to it, or how long they keep it. This becomes dangerous whenever everything gets exposed and users know it.

Communities notice the excuses. When the Tea App incident happened, Reddit users immediately questioned the official narrative. A user asked, “Was it just a poorly configured cloud bucket that allows public users to view and download data, meaning it was negligence and not force?” Others called out the official statements that said, “The information was stored in accordance with law enforcement requirements related to cyber-bullying,” a blatant lie.

Users have seen it before: vague statements and blaming external factors, hoping that the attention will not shift to actual security practices. We have noticed that these “sophisticated attacks” have become a lot less complicated to commit.

Everyone deserves to know how their data is stored and protected. Some things should take precedence over saving money while hoarding personal data. And it is your responsibility to do so.

First Steps Towards Compliance

Yes, you can lecture employees on what data they can input into AI and train them to protect sensitive company information, but this is not sustainable, mostly because people are too lazy to think.

Start by considering implementing role-based training using scenario prompts or pre-approved prompt templates. Block high-risk tools, and provide authorized alternatives with safe defaults. It is your job to minimize the risk, starting from the basics.

However, this process should not be limited to recommendations. It needs to be enforced and supported by tooling. Your job is not only about convenience but also about making the easiest path the most secure path.  

And no, that does not mean you should stop using AI. You should use it more wisely. Before I type anything into a chatbot, I often ask myself, “Would I be okay if this info were leaked tomorrow?”

Handle Your Infrastructure (and People) Better

Can your team and your entire infrastructure handle AI demands? Hoping for the best is not a security strategy. If you are planning to add AI or are already using it, treat it like a Tier‑1 data system.

Start with vendor reassurance: invest in and pay for reputable providers, validate private modes and retention settings, do not allow your data to train the models, review SOC 2/ISO  and all that you can possibly think of, keeping in mind that you have company secrets to keep.

Try to establish technical guardrails by routing AI traffic through CASB/SSE, enabling DLP on prompts and outputs, deploying masking or redaction for PII and secrets, default-minimizing and encrypting logs. Try to build an infrastructure you would be proud of, not something that can crumble at the first issue.

The bottom line is that you should not blindly trust your employees. Set clear rules and use necessary tools. Data deserves protection, and until companies face consequences, everyone will continue to be surprised when another “sophisticated” attack is left to be simple negligence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aras Nazarovas is a Senior Information Security Researcher at Cybernews, a research-driven online publication. Aras specializes in cybersecurity and threat analysis. He investigates online services, malicious campaigns, and hardware security while compiling data on the most prevalent cybersecurity threats. Aras along with the Cybernews research team have uncovered significant online privacy and security issues impacting organizations and platforms such as NASA, Google Play, App Store, and PayPal. The Cybernews research team conducts over 7,000 investigations and publishes more than 600 studies annually, helping consumers and businesses better understand and mitigate data security risks.

ABOUT CYBERNEWS

Cybernews is a globally recognized independent media outlet where journalists and security experts debunk cyber by research, testing, and data. Founded in 2019 in response to rising concerns about online security, the site covers breaking news, conducts original investigations, and offers unique perspectives on the evolving digital security landscape. Through white-hat investigative techniques, Cybernews research team identifies and safely discloses cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, while the editorial team provides cybersecurity-related news, analysis, and opinions by industry insiders with complete independence. For more, visit www.cybernews.com.

Cybernews has earned worldwide attention for its high-impact research and discoveries, which have uncovered some of the internet's most significant security exposures and data leaks. Notable ones include:

• Cybernews researchers discovered multiple open datasets comprising 16 billion login credentials from infostealer malware, social media, developer portals, and corporate networks – highlighting the unprecedented risks of account takeovers, phishing, and business email compromise.

• Cybernews researchers analyzed 156,080 randomly selected iOS apps – around 8% of the apps present on the App Store – and uncovered a massive oversight: 71% of them expose sensitive data.

• Bob Dyachenko, a cybersecurity researcher and owner of SecurityDiscovery.com, and the Cybernews security research team discovered an unprotected Elasticsearch index, which contained a wide range of sensitive personal details related to the entire population of Georgia. 

• The team analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone's web traffic, and found that Google's latest flagship smartphone frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed.

• The team revealed that a massive data leak at MC2 Data, a background check firm, affects one-third of the US population.

• The Cybernews security research team discovered that 50 most popular Android apps require 11 dangerous permissions on average.

• They revealed that two online PDF makers leaked tens of thousands of user documents, including passports, driving licenses, certificates, and other personal information uploaded by users.

• An analysis by Cybernews research discovered over a million publicly exposed secrets from over 58 thousand websites' exposed environment (.env) files.

• The team revealed that Australia's football governing body, Football Australia, has leaked secret keys potentially opening access to 127 buckets of data, including ticket buyers' personal data and players' contracts and documents.

• The Cybernews research team, in collaboration with cybersecurity researcher Bob Dyachenko, discovered a massive data leak containing information from numerous past breaches, comprising 12 terabytes of data and spanning over 26 billion records.

Source: Luxury Escapes

NEW TRAVEL REWARDS PROGRAM OFFERING POINTS, PERKS & PRIVILEDGES

25 November 2025, Auckland, New Zealand: Kiwi travellers are set to make 2026 a year of discovery, looking beyond traditional holiday hotspots in favour of fresh cultures, new cities and richer travel experiences.

New booking data from global travel brand Luxury Escapes shows overall hotel bookings by New. Zealand customers are up 26% year-on-year to October 2025. While perennial favourites Australia and Fiji remain strong, the standout growth is coming from Japan (+56%), Thailand (+24%) and Indonesia/Bali (+14%).

Australians, meanwhile, continue their love affair with New Zealand, with Luxury Escapes recording a remarkable 70% increase in bookings compared with the same period last year. The top five most-booked hotels were Hotel Indigo Auckland, Gibbston Valley Lodge & Spa, QT Auckland, Kamana Lakehouse and Novotel Queenstown Lakeside.

Luxury Escapes Co-Founder and CEO Adam Schwab said New Zealand is a key growth market for the business, both in supporting inbound tourism and helping Kiwis explore the world with greater value.

“We’re seeing strong demand for the exceptional-value, high-end packages we’re known for in places like Thailand, Fiji and Bali. More recently, Japan has surged, particularly at the premium end, showing that Kiwi travellers are eager to broaden their horizons, in style.

”Luxury Escapes is elevating the experience further for New Zealand customers with the launch of Société, its new rewards program offering travellers status perks and the ability to earn rewards across holidays, tours, hotel bookings, flights and experiences.

Luxury Escapes is ramping up the style factor for its New Zealand customers, launching its rewards program Société in the New Zealand market, giving local travellers a new way to enjoy status perks and earn rewards across holidays, tours, hotel bookings, flights, and experiences.

Launched in Australia earlier this year, Société has quickly become one of the fastest-growing lifestyle rewards programs in the region, with almost 900,000 members, many who are already earning and redeeming Points.

Now available to New Zealand travellers, Société offers free membership and the ability to earn Status Credits and Points across every Luxury Escapes bookings and then redeem Points with no blackout dates or restrictions.Luxury Escapes Co-Founder and CEO Adam Schwab said Société is designed to give travellers more value and flexibility.

“Société Points are real currency and not restricted like most travel programs,” said Schwab.

“Our customers can redeem their Points for absolutely everything on Luxury Escapes, from tours, flights, and experiences to travel insurance and hotel rooms, whenever they want. Members can pay with Points, or a mix of Points and cash.”

“We want to make sure we are rewarding our most loyal customers, not frustrating them by having a big bank of points they can’t redeem when they want or how they want. With Societe, our members can and are redeeming Points even on the best Luxury Escapes deal to Fjii and Bali for example”

Members earn Status Credits on eligible purchases, moving through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers with access to exclusive benefits such as:

• Guaranteed room upgrades at the time of booking (no arriving on the day and crossing fingers for an upgrade)
• Airport lounge access at Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown International Airport’s and other global destinations including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (using the uber lux
• Aspire lounges like The House lounge in Melbourne with full open bar and a la carte and buffet dining options throughout the day)
• Private chauffeur airport transfers from home to the airport
• Priority customer support via a dedicated 24/7 number
• Lots of bonuses and discounts (TravelShoot vouchers and tour experience credits).
• Hidden offers only available to Société members (e.g. first-look exclusive travel offers)

Schwab added, “We designed Société from scratch to offer genuine value and simplicity. Our customers can even ‘triple-dip’ by earning Société Points alongside their credit-card and airline loyalty programs.

Our goal is to become New Zealand’s favourite lifestyle rewards program, continually adding more value for our members.”

For more information and to sign up for free, https://luxuryescapes.com/nz/societe

Luxury Escapes is a global leader in offering the world’s best travel experiences for less, with an intuitive and user-friendly website, app and dedicated 24/7 call centre. With more than 9 million members globally, including New Zealand, Luxury Escapes offers a gateway to the world via tailor-made experiences on everything from world-class accommodation to excursions, flights, tours, travel insurance and car hire. 

Source: Consumer NZ

Consumer NZ's 12-week price-tracking investigation in the lead up to Black Friday reveals how two retailers could be more naughty than nice when it comes to genuine deals.  

Gemma Rasmussen, head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, says her team of investigators are always sceptical of the “fizzed up” deals that appear this time of the year.  

“We’ve been tracking 10 products across Briscoes, Harvey Norman, Farmers and Noel Leeming for 3 months to find out how good the specials around Black Friday really are,” says Rasmussen.

“Based on our price tracking, we think Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman could be bending the rules with their promotional pricing, while Farmers and Briscoes follow a rhythmic 'up and down' price pattern, where if you wait long enough, you’ll get a special. They are all contributing to a chaotic, ‘FOMO’ energy as we sprint towards the hyped-up sales tradition and the start of the Christmas shopping spree.”

Rasmussen is dubious that the sales on Black Friday will blow anyone’s minds when it comes to them offering genuine value.

“Our suspicion is that the retailers will continue to fluctuate prices and dazzle us with colours and promotional language as they have over the last few months. But we’d love to be pleasantly surprised.”

They play the game: Briscoes and Farmers

Rasmussen says Briscoes has really created a name for itself for almost always having a sale. In reality, they’re playing by the ‘specials’ rules, where prices regularly rise and fall.

“With Briscoes, our data shows us that if you wait a week or two, generally you will get a deal. Having prices that shift back and forth feels sneaky, and it can make it hard for those who don’t understand there’s a pattern to know what’s a good deal and what’s not.”

Of the 10 items Consumer tracked, 9 were frequently on special at Briscoes, with most falling into a pattern of being on special for one or two weeks and then the normal price for a week or two.

“Our spot-check found Briscoes is playing by the ‘specials’ rules because it does offer shoppers a genuine opportunity to buy at a discounted price, for a limited time, before returning the product to its usual price.”

Consumer found a similar pattern at Farmers, where goods were on special for two weeks, then back to their usual selling price for the following one to two weeks.

“If you've got your eye on something, watch the price across a fortnight, and grab it when it next drops. It’s OK to feel the FOMO, but you don’t need to act on it straight away. Check your finances and what other shops are offering, then, if you still want it, head back – you probably won’t miss out.”

They lure with language: Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming

For 10 of the 12 weeks, most products tracked at Harvey Norman were promoted with deal-saving claims almost every week.

“Harvey Norman stood out in our investigation for the wrong reasons,” says Rasmussen.  

“While the promotional tags changed frequently, the prices only shifted a little.

“Promotions were labelled ‘great price’, ‘super deal’, ‘huge deal’ or a ‘massive stock sell-out’ for 9 of the 10 products we tracked nearly every week we tracked them.

“A toastie maker was priced at $64 for 10 of the 12 weeks we tracked, during which time, it was variously labelled as a ‘great price’, ‘super deal’, ‘massive stock sell-out’, ‘now’ and even a ‘huge deal’.

“When you look at it like that, wouldn’t you reach the conclusion $64 is the normal price, rather than a special?“  

Consumer thinks Harvey Norman could be at risk of misleading customers with all this hype by creating the impression customers are paying less than they usually would.

Consumer’s investigation found Noel Leeming regularly uses the word ‘now’ on its online pricing. “We think the continual ‘now’ pricing creates the impression products are cheaper than their usual price. But the ‘now’ price jumped around from week to week, too.  

“For example, the NutriBullet appeared to be 'now’ on special for 10 out of the 12 weeks, and yet the special price varied between $69 and $91,” says Rasmussen.

“You'd be forgiven for thinking the continual ‘now’ promo means you’d be paying less than you usually would. But that’s not necessarily true.”

They capture our attention – so do this instead

Rasmussen says the pull of a special is always stronger when cost pressures are hitting hard.

“Even though most of us know that Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are mostly just a big hit of dopamine, you'd be hard-pressed to find a New Zealander who’s immune to the allure of a red strike-through or a percentage discount.

“Use sites like PriceSpy and PriceMe to track sales and learn when pricing is genuinely low. Don't get sucked into the hype. Chances are, there will be another sale in a fortnight,” says Rasmussen.

“Our research shows time and time again that the prices around Black Friday are a bit like shaking up a bottle of Coca-Cola – it’s all fizzy and bubbly and exciting, but when you take a sip, it’s flat, and you realise you’d probably have been fine without it.  

“If an advertisement or promotion raises your eyebrows, send it our way. We’re not afraid to call out this year’s naughty retailers.”

Note:

Read the full article on Consumer's website: Is it really on special?: https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/is-it-really-on-special

About Consumer

Consumer NZ is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to championing and empowering consumers in Aotearoa. Consumer NZ has a reputation for being fair, impartial and providing comprehensive consumer information and advice.

Source: Fonterra
 
Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has today provided an update on its forecast Farmgate Milk Price and milk collections for the 2025/26 season.  
 
The Co-op has narrowed the forecast Farmgate Milk Price range from $9.00-$11.00 per kgMS to $9.00-$10.00 per kgMS, with the midpoint changing from $10.00 per kgMS to $9.50 per kgMS.  
 
The Co-op has also increased its forecast milk collections for the 2025/26 season from 1,525 million kgMS to 1,545 million kgMS.  
 
CEO Miles Hurrell says we’ve seen strong milk flows this season, both here in New Zealand and other milk producing nations.  
 
“This increase in milk supply has put downward pressure on global commodity prices, with seven consecutive price drops in recent Global Dairy Trade events. As a result, we have narrowed the forecast Farmgate Milk Price range for the season and adjusted our midpoint.  
 
“Fonterra started the season with a wide forecast range of $8.00-$11.00 per kgMS. The new midpoint of $9.50 per kgMS is in the middle of this range and remains a strong forecast for the season.    
 
“We continue to be focused on maximising returns for farmer shareholders through both the Farmgate Milk Price and earnings. This includes through building strong relationships with customers who value our products, utilising price risk management tools, and optimising our product mix,” says Mr Hurrell.
 
About Fonterra    
Fonterra is a co-operative owned and supplied by thousands of farming families across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through the spirit of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterra’s farmers and employees share the goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredients brands. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. We are passionate about supporting our communities by Doing Good Together.